BURN ; phan

t e n

The days consisted of waking up at 10 am to find his little sister already awake in her crib. She wasn't crying, she never cried when she saw Phil. She would laugh and make grabby hands at him and he would let her pull on his shirt when he picked her up. He would change her diaper before taking her downstairs, his step-dad nowhere in sight, probably off to work. Martyn was already at school, so that left Phil and the baby to their devices all day.

He would feel her oatmeal with crushed up strawberries and give her a bath. Sometimes they would watch cartoons and other times he would take her to the park down the street. He let her play games on his phone (which his mom only gave back to him because he would be alone all day, and he wasn't allowed to call or text anyone that didn't live in their house). But most of the time Phil tried to get her to speak, he talked and talked around that little girl so much she started mimicking his words - or at least trying to. They all came out as a blabber of sounds and a lot of saliva. 

Then his mother would come home at around five and they would talk about what they saw on TV, and Martyn would give him the homework that he was missing, and sometimes Phil would talk at dinner, but only small comments about Martyn's day or what a patient did at his mom's work. 

The boy still had 7 more days left of his suspension, and on the 4th day of his 10 days home, there was a knock on the door. Frowning, he pulled himself off the couch, muttering something to the baby to stay still, even though she couldn't really understand him. He pulled the door open, trying to think back to if someone ordered something online, but all of his thoughts scrambled like eggs when he found Daniel Howell standing on his doorstep. 

He held his hands behind his back, curly hair wrapped around his ears. His cheeks and nose were rosy due to the cold weather, and he only wore a hoodie. He smiled sheepishly, and behind him, Phil could see the leaves falling, he was the angle of fall. 

"Dan," he breathed out as if it were the first time speaking his name. As if he hadn't been thinking of him for the past 4 days straight. As if he hadn't memorized every freckle on his cheek and the different hues on his hands. 

"Hi, um, you weren't answering your phone so I got kind of worried..." he mumbled, playing with the hairs on the nape of his neck.

"Yeah, my mom put a block on my phone. I got suspended, again."

He nodded, old news. By now everyone would have known Phil had gotten suspended, it would have been a national emergency at their school. 

"Um, I don't think I'm supposed to have people over, but my mom's not home, and it's pretty cold outside. Would you like to come in?" 

"Yeah." Daniel grinned. Phil stepped out of the way to let him in and as he was shutting the door he heard the brunet emit a small gasp. Turning around he found his sister smiling up at their surprise visitor, Dan crouched in front of her by the couch.

"Who are you?" he cooed at the baby, his forefinger already trapped in her pudgy hands. He had seen her when he first visited the Lester home, but he hadn't held her or even gotten her name.

"That's Daisy," Phil spoke with a smile, watching Dan rub her bald head with his hand. She grabbed his wrist, shaking it up and down.

"Daisy, you are so cute." 

He entertains the girl for a few minutes before he stands again, her mind getting quickly distracted by the television. Dan turns to the older boy, rubbing his thighs with his hands. "Um, about what I said - a few days ago. I meant for like a day, not four days." he laughs, and so does Phil. 

"I'm sorry," The older rubs the back of his neck.

"Yeah, you should be. You knocked Nate dead off his feet, that was just plain stupid." Dan pushes his friend softly, Phil stumbles and chuckles, his knuckles growing sore just from the mention of Nate's hard jaw. 

"He really fucked up my hand." He flexed his palm, showing the younger his black and blue hand. Dan placed his cold hands over Phil's warm one, trying to help the pain like a bag of peas.

"Besides," Dan said, softer now, almost a whisper. They were only a few inches apart. He looks down at their hands before looking back up at Phil's eyes. "I missed my best friend." 

The older could have sworn his heart stopped from the way Daniel was looking at him. He batted his lashes up at him, lips slightly parted, his breath even. Phil was a wreck on knees, he hadn't seen the boy in almost a week, all of his senses and emotions were smashing into his composure like bricks. And that's when he leaned in, his nose almost touching Dan's, they breathed as one for a second before Dan reached up and connected their lips. Immediately, Phil swopped in and placed his hand on Dan's hips, the younger taking his off the boy's hand and wrapping them around his neck. Phil placed his bruised hand on his other hip. Dan pulled their bodies closer, Phil smiled before wincing as Daniel bit down on his bottom lip. They pulled away from kissing again, the black-haired boy's tongue prodding at the brunet's lip. 

In one swift motion, the front door handle turned and in walked Martyn, headphones blaring as he laid eyes on his brother and their unexpected guest. Dan yanked away first, Phil's mind cloudy and unaware of his older brother's sudden appearance. The younger wiped his mouth quickly as Phil spun around in a frown, freezing when Martyn stared back at him.

Neither Lester brother spoke, neither breathed or blinked. They stared at each other like mannequins before the older of the pair jabbed his thumb towards the staircase, wordlessly. Phil nodded quickly, Martyn turning on his heels and booking it into his room.

Dan let out a long sigh, he had sat down next to Daisy when his knees almost gave out but quickly stood when Phil turned back towards him.

"I should go," He mumbled, flexing his hands at his sides. Opened, closed, opened, closed.

"Dan, wait." Phil grabbed his elbow before he could make it to the door. The boy spun around, his eyes darted from Phil's to his lips, before he quickly leaned forward and kissed him once more before opening the door.

"I'll see you later." And then he was gone.